Shadowscope

We had some pretty severe weather here in west hell this afternoon. The wind howled, rain was coming down sideways and there was the threat of tornados most of the afternoon. There was at least one that touched down north of here in Polk County. At least two people died because of it.

Mayor Shirley Franklin and Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue have also declared a state of emergency for the city of Atlanta due to storm damage and they are urging people to stay inside unless absolutely necessary.

Another tornado also touched down in Atlanta as well. Cabbagetown is a pretty historic area of town and about 20 homes were damaged or completely destroyed. The police are urging people to stay away for the time being.

The last big tornado that hit the city was back in 1975. I remember that one. There was a swath of damage for miles. Three people were killed in that storm.

I just got finished watching a video that looks like it was shot from a cell phone. It’s in a neighborhood near Camp Creek Parkway (west side of Atlanta) and clearly shows a funnel cloud moving through the neighborhood. Whoever shot it was obviously upstairs shooting out a window. All I could think of was “what a dumb ass”.

Here are some pictures of the tornado damage in Atlanta, thanks to Voxant Newsroom.

We were pretty lucky out here. The wife and kids were up and down the stairs to the basement most of the afternoon and without power while I was stuck at work. No damage to our neighborhood or anyone I know, at least that I have heard. My sympathies go out to those folks that have been hurt or the families of those that have been killed.

Sgt. Steve Morin Jr.
34 years old from Arlington, Texas
111th Engineer Battalion, 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard
September 28, 2005

From the time he finished high school, Sgt. Steve Morin Jr. made serving in the military his career.

“He always stood up for what he thought was right,” Gwendolyn Michelle Morin, his wife, said. “He was a fighter. He would never give up.”  “He had called me to let me know what he was going to do that day,” she said. He expected to be able to call her more often because of the missions he was being assigned. Sometimes they would go 11 or 12 days between calls.

Morin enlisted in the Navy after graduating high school in his hometown of Brownfield, Texas at 17. By 34, Morin had devoted 14 years to the Navy, served in the National Guard for two and planned to attend Officers Candidate School.  Morin was still in the Navy when he met his wife. At the time, the two were working for a photo company; he was Santa Claus and she was an elf, she said. Both were attending Texas Tech University.  “It was funny because we always kept running into each other. He would hang outside my classes and wait for me with a Diet Coke,” recalled Gwendolyn.  “He knew how to make me really happy.”

Sgt. Morin died when an IED went off, overturning the vehicle he was riding in near Umm Qasr, Iraq.

“He’s very strong willed, very determined. Humorous, a clown, but he was also very disciplined and very passionate about what he believed in,” Gwendolyn Morin said. “He always wanted to serve his country.”

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday.  For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

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